To Kill With Intrigue (1980)
Director - Lo Wei
DVD Released by : Simitar
Player reviewed with : Sony S3000
Receiver reviewed with : Sony 925
Features:

Interactive menus

Scene access
Movie factoids
Biography
Audio : AC-3 stereo
Interview : Jackie tells how he does
his amazing stunts!
Not enhanced for 16 x 9 TVs

TO KILL WITH INTRIGUE stars Jackie Chan as a young Lord whose family is killed by the Killer Bee Gang. The leader of the gang lets him live because she falls in love with him. Unbeknownst to Jackie, his best friend who is supposed to be taking care of his girlfriend, betrays him. Ding, the leader of the gang aids him in hopes that he will love her and forget his girlfriend. During his training, Ding scars Jackie every time he fails. When Jackie is ready, he battles his ex-bestfriend.

The picture is pan and scan but like most of the Simitar releases, there is little panning and scanning. The picture quality overall is less than fair and the print really shows it's age. The action is sometimes hard to follow because of the framing. The picture looks like a video taped in the slowest speed.

The DVD case says the sound is AC-3 stereo. There is one soundtrack and that is in English. The sound is also less than fair and about the same as the other Simitar releases. There is one scene where there is a nasty buzz for second that is really annoying.

The extras consist of a biography of Jackie Chan and an interview. The biography is the same on all of the Simitar DVD's as is the interview. The interview is interesting the first time you watch it but they put it on all of the DVD's the release by him!

Now at this point you're probably wondering why anybody would buy these DVD's. It's definitely not the quality. One good thing about the Simitar DVD's is that it's a good look at Jackie Chan's early work. These aren't the greatest movies but they are entertaining. They are usually cheap, too. Sometimes you can get these under $10. There are two-packs for about $15. The movies are also reminiscent of the movies they used to show on TV on Saturday afternoons.

These DVD's aren't for everybody. If all somebody knows about Jackie Chan is SUPERCOP, they they should avoid this. Despite the lack of quality, I still like these DVD's. I enjoy watching Jackie's early work and for a little more than a rental, I might as well own it.